Family ties infuse all-area baseball Player of Year with big-league feel

CaptionLake Brantley vs. Orangewood Christian

Jacob Langston / Orlando Sentinel

Grant Harris from OrangeWood Christian turns a double play as Chase Haecker slides unsuccessfully into second during their game against Lake Brantley at Lake Brantley on Wednesday on March 19, 2014. (Jacob Langston/Orlando Sentinel)

Grant Harris from OrangeWood Christian turns a double play as Chase Haecker slides unsuccessfully into second during their game against Lake Brantley at Lake Brantley on Wednesday on March 19, 2014. (Jacob Langston/Orlando Sentinel) (Jacob Langston / Orlando Sentinel)

Michael Gizzi from Orangewood Christian fields a ball during their game against Lake Brantley at Lake Brantley on Wednesday on March 19, 2014. (Jacob Langston/Orlando Sentinel)

Michael Gizzi from Orangewood Christian fields a ball during their game against Lake Brantley at Lake Brantley on Wednesday on March 19, 2014. (Jacob Langston/Orlando Sentinel) (Jacob Langston / Orlando Sentinel)

From the time he was 6, he stood in the outfield at Wrigley Field, Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium, among other parks, and hit home runs. To him, they were tape-measure shots.

"He hit all the team balls into the stands, and when he was finished, he would take off," said Nick's father, Tom "Flash'' Gordon, a major-league pitcher for 21 seasons. "One of the coaches would say, 'Flash, we have to go collect those balls. We need them.'

The work paid off for Gordon, Olympia's senior shortstop and the Sentinel's all-area baseball Player of the Year. He is expected to be selected in the first round of baseball's amateur draft Thursday.

"Some of my earliest memories are going to the ballpark with my dad, being in the clubhouse, getting to go on the field, taking ground balls, playing catch and hitting," Gordon said. "Being around baseball all my life has given me motivation."

Growing up in a baseball family had its advantages for Nick and his half-brother, Dee, 26the starting second baseman with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

"You could always tell he had a passion for the game," Tom said of Nick. "Once he got to the age where he could walk, he always would put on a baseball uniform. He always had a million questions, which I didn't mind because it showed his interest."

Nick led the Titans with a .512 batting average and contributed 11 doubles, six homers and 28 RBIs.

With a major-league father, he always had a veritable how-to-play resource nearby. Nick would work on fundamentals and improve his baseball IQ by asking his dad about situations on the field.

Other perks would make many youngsters envious.

"I was at the All-Star Game in 2004 in Houston, and we were allowed to go out in the field and take ground balls and play catch in the outfield," said Nick, an FSU signee.

When Tom was with the Boston Red Sox, Nick got pretty good at imitating the idiosyncrasies of Nomar Garciaparra, who was known for constantly adjust his batting gloves. Slugger David Ortiz, also known as Big Papi, carried Nick around the clubhouse on his shoulders.

In 2004, when his dad was with the New York Yankees, Nick was befriended by shortstop Derek Jeter. Jeter took him to the clubhouse's snack bar and would allow Nick to sit in his locker, playing with the future Hall of Famer.

"The life we had as kids was great," said Dee, who has introduced Nick to Dodgers teammates Clayton Kershaw and Yasiel Puig. "With my dad, we were on the field every day or in the clubhouse. We still play catch with my dad when I get home."

The family home in Windermere is filled with baseball memorabilia, including jerseys of several players, including Roy Halladay, Pedro Martinez, Jose Canseco and Albert Pujols.

"I have been blessed, very blessed, to be in the situation I am in," Nick said.

LAKELAND — Hagerty suffered a painful state championship game loss on Saturday night when Wellington sophomore Trent Frazier made a last-second free throw after drawing a foul with a drive at the buzzer.